In 2023 we finally leave behind the Saturn Uranus square and enter a whole new archetypal landscape. We have two major ingresses, with Saturn entering Pisces and Pluto entering Aquarius, and the nodal axis shifts into Aries and Libra. But the year begins with the disruptive energy of 2022 still holding sway, with Mars retrograde in Gemini and Mercury retrograde in Capricorn, while the Saturn Uranus square slowly moves out of orb.

By the end of January, Mars and Mercury have stationed direct, and although Uranus is still conjunct the North Node, things may feel a little calmer. The big shift happens in March when Saturn and Pluto change signs within weeks of each other. This is followed by Jupiter entering Taurus in May, and then the nodes change signs and Venus stations retrograde in Leo in July.

Here are the main details for 2023:

• Pluto in Capricorn
• Pluto visits Aquarius from March to June
• Neptune in Pisces
• Uranus in Taurus
• Saturn in Aquarius
• Saturn enters Pisces in March
• Jupiter in Aries
• Jupiter conjunct Chiron in March
• Jupiter enters Taurus in May
• Jupiter square Pluto in May
• Jupiter conjunct North Node in June
• Jupiter sextile Saturn in June
• Moon Nodes in Taurus/Scorpio
• Moon Nodes enter Aries/Libra in July
• Venus stations retrograde in Leo in July

This year marks the start of a transition into the middle of the decade when everything changes around the pivot of the Saturn Neptune conjunction and all the outer planets enter new signs, with Pluto in Aquarius, Neptune in Aries, and Uranus in Gemini. Pluto takes the next two years to settle into his new sign so we’re going to be in limbo for a little while, toggling back and forth between letting go of the past and trying to figure out what comes next.

From March 2023 we enter a liminal space when Saturn enters Pisces and begins a five-year period of Saturn Neptune/Pisces energy. This is the beginning of a long process of dissolution and potential healing that may be hard to navigate as we deal with the fallout of the past few years. There’ll be many endings but also opportunities to plant seeds for new beginnings.

There are no major alignments this year except the ones Jupiter makes as he moves towards his conjunction with Uranus in 2024. Jupiter enters Taurus in May and conjuncts the North Node in June. Both these events could bring improvements to your finances but they could also indicate further increases to inflation and price rises. The economic situation may not improve until the North Node leaves Taurus in July, but then Venus stations retrograde and this might throw a spanner in the works or slow down the recovery.

None of this is financial advice – obviously! How the astrology of the time plays out for you depends on your personal situation and location, as well as your attitude and willingness to work with the energies as they unfold. Let’s dive into the specifics for 2023…

Pluto in Aquarius

Pluto only spends a couple of months in Aquarius this year, from 23rd March to 11th June – a lightning quick visit. He returns on 21st January 2024 for a few more months and doesn’t fully enter the sign until November that year. Pluto enters Aquarius about two weeks after Saturn leaves, so structures put in place by Saturn over the last two years may now be dismantled and slowly transformed by Pluto. This will take the next 20 years and will only apply to areas that are rotten or no longer useful.

Pluto in Aquarius will transform the rules and social norms that bind society together, and the systems we live within that are shaped by our ideas about humanity. It will also transform how we use science and technology to manifest those ideas. How you participate in this social and technological revolution will depend on the house occupied by Aquarius in your chart.

More on the history of this transit here: Pluto in Aquarius: the Evolution of Society and Technology, or explore all Pluto in Aquarius posts here. More on the transition of Pluto from Capricorn to Aquarius here, and the personal effects of this transit – coming soon!

Saturn in Pisces

Saturn enters Pisces and joins Neptune on 7th March 2023 and stays there until 25th May 2025 when he enters Aries. There’s some toggling back and forth between Pisces and Aries before the Saturn Neptune conjunction in Aries in 2025-26, where they stay until 2028. So this year is the start of a three-year period of dissolution and endings with a new beginning at the shift into Aries.

Saturn in Pisces is a good time to take a practical approach to creativity, imagination, spiritual practice, and helping others. You can ground your imagination in creative work or make a serious commitment to spiritual study and meditation, keep a dream diary, go on a retreat, dissolve negative unconscious patterns, and learn to surrender to something larger than yourself.

You may also need to confront past karma in this area of your chart, or go through a process of disillusionment or crisis of faith. Saturn may burst a few of your favourite dream bubbles, but he may also help to make your dreams come true through hard work and discipline.

More here: Saturn in Pisces: Disillusionment and Spiritual Discipline, or explore all the Saturn in Pisces posts here.

Jupiter in Taurus

Jupiter enters Taurus on 16th May 2023 and stays until 25th May 2024 when he goes into Gemini. With Jupiter in Taurus you can improve and expand the Taurus area of your chart which may include improving your finances, access to resources, values and feelings of self-worth, depending on the house position. It’s a good time to seek out ways to provide a more stable foundation for your life and increase your wealth, not just in money but also inner or spiritual wealth.

While your income may increase, your outgoings could also increase due to price rises and inflation. You may also be tempted to overdo the self-indulgence and eat too much or spend too much on luxuries that you can’t afford. Counterbalance this by practising gratitude for what you have and get back in touch with your body by staying grounded and slowing down so you can be more present. More on Jupiter in Taurus here.

Main Alignments

The main alignments this year are all made by Jupiter, although the outer planets are moving into closer orbs in the alignments that will dominate the second half of this decade. For more on this, read these posts: Neptune Pluto Cycle, Uranus Neptune Cycle, and Uranus Pluto Cycle. There are three Jupiter alignments in 2023:

Jupiter conjunct Chiron

This conjunction happens at 14° Aries on 12th March 2023, with a 3-degree orb from 23rd February to 29th March. But the 8-degree orb runs from 22nd January to 25th April. The Jupiter Chiron conjunction is the start of a new cycle of healing and optimism that helps you to understand old wounds and put the pain of the past into a larger perspective so you can let it go.

Now is a good time to educate yourself and others about healing and health, and cultivate positive beliefs by expanding your outlook. You may find healing through travel or contact with other cultures, spiritual practices and philosophical ideas. Whether you can tap into this transit depends on where it falls in your chart.

Jupiter square Pluto

The Jupiter Pluto square is at 0° Taurus/Aquarius on 18th May 2023 and is the waxing square in the cycle that started with the conjunction in 2020. There’s a 3-degree orb from 5th to 31st May, and an 8-degree orb from 14th April to 22nd June. They return to an 8-degree orb at the end of the year from 6th December 2023 to 12th February 2024.

This transit is an opportunity to reform many areas of your life through an increase in ambition and wealth, or by deepening your perception and bringing insights into religious or philosophical questions. You can achieve great success in worldly terms, as well as transform yourself by digging into your subconscious and releasing negative emotional patterns. This transformation can be applied to any area of your life but it may be focused on the houses transited by Jupiter and Pluto.

Jupiter sextile Saturn

The Jupiter Saturn sextile is at 7° Taurus/Pisces on 19th June 2023 and is the waxing sextile in the cycle that started with the conjunction in 2020. There’s a 3-degree orb from 4th June to 5th July, and a 6-degree orb from 18th May to 20th July. Although there’s only one exact alignment this year, they come close again in 2024 but never quite become exact.

This transit represents a balance between the need for growth and limitation. It’s a good time to put your ideas and imagination into practical form, and with hard work and discipline you could achieve a lot. By taking a realistic approach and accepting your limitations you can work towards making your dreams real in the houses transited by Jupiter and Saturn. But since it’s a sextile, you’ll need to make an effort to get the most out of it.

More on Jupiter Transits in the houses here.

Moon Nodes in 2023

The eclipses this year toggle between two axes as we finish up the Taurus/Scorpio eclipse cycle and start the Aries/Libra cycle. There are two more eclipses to come in the old cycle, and two in the new one. Here are the dates for the eclipses for 2023:

• Total solar eclipse on 20 April at 29°50’ Aries
• Lunar eclipse on 5 May at 14°58’ Scorpio
• Solar eclipse on 14 October at 21°07’ Libra
• Partial lunar eclipse on 28 October at 5°09’ Taurus

The North Node entered Taurus on 18th January 2022 and leaves on 17th July 2023, while Jupiter conjuncts the North Node in Taurus in June. With the nodes in Taurus and Scorpio we’ve seen inflation and price rises, supply chain disruption thanks to Uranus, loss of energy security and power cuts, and an increase in inequality and poverty around the world.

The North Node in Taurus increases the desire for security and stability, while the South Node in Scorpio reveals the issues that need to be released, such as abuse of power, corruption, secrecy, and the fear of death. The idea is to discover where your true wealth and security reside and where they come from. Look at how you use your resources, both inner and outer, and find ways to become more self-sufficient.

The North Node enters Aries and the South Node enters Libra on 17th July 2023 and leaves on 11th January 2025. The eclipses for this cycle extend into 2024 with another lunar eclipse and two solar eclipses across Aries and Libra. This year, Pluto squares the nodes from Capricorn in July but remains in orb from February to December.

With the nodes in Aries and Libra there could be an increase in aggression and the desire for independence, sovereignty and self-rule, leading to more wars between nations and fighting in general. It could exacerbate any conflict, producing more anger, protests and rioting, and perhaps less inclination towards finding diplomatic solutions and harmony. However, it could also cut through the groupthink that’s taken over society in recent years, bringing people back to themselves.

The North Node in Aries increases your desire to be yourself and the need for assertion, adventure, excitement and movement. You may want to achieve something for yourself but could also be confused about what you want and how to get it. The South Node in Libra reveals the relationship issues that need to be released or healed, such as too much co-dependency or compromise that makes you inauthentic.

To work with this transit in a constructive way, look for patterns across the Aries Libra axis of your chart to see where you might be compromising yourself too much, keeping the peace at your own expense, and where you need to stand up for yourself more. The ideal to aim for is to balance your needs as an individual with the needs of others but not at the expense of yourself or the other.

You may find the house axis is more relevant to your experience than the signs. Check your chart to see if any of the eclipses activate important points in your horoscope.

Retrogrades in 2023

The year begins with Mars retrograde in Gemini and he stations direct on 12th January. This cycle began in September 2022 and ends in March 2023 when Mars leaves his shadow. This period provides an opportunity to reassess your goals and ambitions and how you use your energy so you can be more productive when the retrograde is over. Here are the dates for the full cycle:

• 4 September 2022: enters retrograde shadow at 8° Gemini
• 30 October 2022: stations retrograde at 25° Gemini
• 8 December 2022: Sun opposite Mars at 16° Sagittarius/Gemini
• 12 January 2023: stations direct at 8° Gemini
• 16 March 2023: leaves retrograde shadow at 25° Gemini

When Mars stationed retrograde in October you may have noticed a drop in energy or lost your sense of direction and personal power. There may’ve been disruptions to your plans or unforeseen problems that needed fixing. This period of setback and frustration is now coming to an end and you can begin to move forward again after making any necessary changes. More here: Mars Retrograde in Gemini

Check your chart to see which area needs re-evaluating. For more read: A Guide to Stealing Fire During Mars Retrograde

This year Venus goes retrograde in Leo as she did 8 years ago in 2015, so check what you were doing then because it may reflect themes that come up again this year. Venus stations retrograde in July and the whole cycle runs from June to October. Here are the dates:

• 19 June: enters retrograde shadow at 12° Leo
• 23 July: stations retrograde at 28° Leo
• 13 August: inferior conjunction with Sun at 20° Leo
• 4 September: stations direct at 12° Leo
• 7 October: leaves retrograde shadow at 28° Leo

This is an opportunity to evaluate your relationships, business partnerships, finances, creative projects, and feelings of inner value and self-worth. Don’t take anything for granted because your feelings may change once Venus goes direct. It may be unwise to invest or spend large sums of money on anything now, or get married or start a new relationship.

Check your chart to see which area needs re-evaluating. For more read: A Guide to Stealing Fire During Venus Retrograde

Finally, this year Mercury goes retrograde in earth signs and starts to shift into fire signs right at the end of the year. These are good times to slow down and assess how you think and communicate, especially in relation to physical reality and security issues and how you meet your basic needs, depending on the areas of your chart that are affected. Here are the dates for each cycle:

12 December 2022: entered retrograde shadow at 8° Capricorn
29 December 2022: stations retrograde at 24° Capricorn
7 January 2023: inferior conjunction with the Sun at 16° Capricorn
18 January: stations direct at 8° Capricorn
7 February: leaves retrograde shadow at 24° Capricorn
17 March: superior conjunction with the Sun at 26° Pisces

7 April: enters retrograde shadow at 5° Taurus
21 April: stations retrograde at 15° Taurus
1 May: inferior conjunction with the Sun at 11° Taurus
15 May: stations direct at 5° Taurus
31 May: leaves retrograde shadow at 15° Taurus
1 July: superior conjunction with the Sun at 9° Cancer

3 August: enters retrograde shadow at 8° Virgo
23 August: stations retrograde at 21° Virgo
6 September: inferior conjunction with the Sun at 13° Virgo
15 September: stations direct at 8° Virgo
30 September: leaves retrograde shadow at 21° Virgo
20 October: superior conjunction with the Sun at 26° Libra

25 November: enters retrograde shadow at 22° Sagittarius
13 December: stations retrograde at 8° Capricorn
22 December: inferior conjunction with the Sun at 0° Capricorn
2 January 2024: stations direct at 22° Sagittarius
21 January 2024: leaves retrograde shadow at 8° Capricorn
28 February 2024: superior conjunction with the Sun at 9° Pisces

Check your chart to see which areas could get disrupted. For more read: A Guide to Stealing Fire During Mercury Retrograde

For more on the astrology of 2023 you may be interested in the Astro Journal 2023, a workbook for astrologers to help you plan your year and keep track of events. It includes interpretations for all the main events, plus detailed delineations for each month. It’s available in paperback and Kindle from Amazon, or from my Payhip store here.

For a longer term context on the current transits read: Forthcoming Astrological Cycles and Transits 2022 to 2032

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